In Dreams
by ancient-relic
Summary: Kagome is haunted by startlingly vivid dreams of a strange man with red eyes. Who is he? What does he want? When her dreams slowly begin to seep into her reality, Kagome will be forced to make a choice. And just what will that choice be, when it's between a life and the people she's always loved… and the unknown?
1. Kagome's Dream

**A/N:** So, here's the beginning of what will hopefullyturn out to be a Kagome/Itachi. I know you're all excited. A few people were looking forward to Piano Man being a Itachi/Kag, but it **is **a Sasuke/Kag. So for compensation, I give you this! Please enjoy!

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or InuYasha...

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**In Dreams – I**

**ancient-relic**

Kagome shivered, sitting straight up in her sleeping bag. There was a cold, foreboding wind that whipped through the clearing raising goose bumps on her skin. Climbing gingerly out of her sleeping bag, Kagome peeled her night shirt off her back, frowning in distaste. It was damp with cold sweat.

Looking around at her sleeping comrades, her heart fell when she didn't spot InuYasha. _Where is he?_

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't really want to know. However, a soft _snuffle_ from above made her spin around on the balls of her feel, and gradually, her heart returned to it's proper altitude in her chest when she caught glimpses of InuYasha's robes in the trees above her.

A swell of guilt rose within her.

Grabbing a light cotton blanket and slipping her feet into her discarded sandals, Kagome slipped out of the clearing, heading towards the river where InuYasha and Shippo had hunted for their supper. The night was surprisingly bright even within the cover of the trees, and the wind couldn't reach her. The air was quiet, but at the same time alive with little sounds. There were all manners of animals and insects that liked to crawl around under the cover of the moon, and their noises twisted eerily into a soulful song that did nothing to abate Kagome's goose bumps.

A few minutes later when she reached the river, Kagome chose a large rock that stretched well out into the water. The current flowed calmly around her, but she knew better. Mere inches below the surface of the water, deep currents twisted and churned, ready to pull anyone and anything away if they weren't careful enough.

_Isn't it strange how the wild can reflect the unspoken natures of a person?_

The river sighed silently, gurgling gently as water lapped gently around the base of Kagome's rock.

_The river is like a person._ It could be anyone.

Anyone; who while holding a look, a personality, a feeling on the outside, was actually someone entirely different on the inside.

A mass of swirling, writhing, twisting emotions that would consume the outer shell without a second thought, if you let them.

Sometimes, she was like that.

_Dangerous red eyes flashed as they locked with hers._

All the time, _he_ was like that.

* * *

_A loud crack resonated through the air and she jolted from her position on the tatami mat. Her dream of glaring red eyes faded instantly, becoming something of the past as the future crept upon her with a series of intense flashes._

_First, the head assaulted her skin, sending the hairs along her arms and the back of her neck tingling._

_Next was the acrid scent… burning wood, burning cloth, and burning flesh. It tore through her senses, making her stomach reel and the inside of her nose burn._

_Then, it was the screams that reached her ears… the horrible, endless dying screams of people calling for a saviour that wasn't going to come. They ripped into her head, echoing like an eerie lullaby, bouncing off the inside of her skull._

_Reaching gingerly out, eyes held stiffly shut, she scrambled to her feet, bringing the blanket along with her. Wrapping it securely around her hands, she felt along the wall, wincing as the extreme heat singed her hands even through the blanket. It was worse than she thought._

_Finally finding the door, she stumbled outside coughing, hacking and wheezing. It was only now that she dared to open her eyes, and she muffled a scream with her covered hands as she took in the carnage around her._

_Flames crawled up and down every building, burning mercilessly through the thatched rooftops and into the cattle barns. Chickens were flapping and squawking frantically, getting trampled or set on fire as people rushed around saving themselves and their belongings and pushing them out of the way._

_Nothing, it seemed, was sacred anymore._

_Smoke clouded the sky so thickly she couldn't tell if it was night or day. No one she knew passed her. They were all nameless, faceless people, doing nothing to stop the mayhem around them._

_Frantic glances and shouts were sent every which way, looking for something that might clue her in as to what was happening, and why. She met no friendly eyes… No one looked her way._

_The fire was creeping, creeping, coming closer and closer with every moment that she tallied outside the hut she'd just left._

_A burst of smoke escaped from one of the larger huts down the way, and she watched in horror as the building collapsed upon itself as if someone had sat on it. The screams were still shrilly ringing in her ears, but something about them had changed. Watching the hut that had collapsed, a figure began to appear; emerging from the smoke, silhouetted by the glowing embers from the remains of the hut._

_The figure stood still, placing its burden on the ground. She watched as the young woman scrambled up and ran, not bothering to thank her rescuer. Running towards the strange hero, she felt her heart pound in anticipation. She was certain it was no one she knew… and there was only one other person that it could be._

_The man with red eyes. He had come for her._

_A shapeless cloak surrounded his body, obscuring everything from view. A high collar stretched up, covering half his face. A broad straw hat covered his head, ashes and other burning debris landing atop it but strangely, never catching aflame again. The only thing that was visible were his eyes, a glaring red that glowed even brighter with the reflection of the flames as they danced every which way, greedily devouring everything around them._

_A pale hand extended from the depths of his shapeless black cloak, and with the glow of the fire, faint red clouds within the fabric shimmered._

"_Come."_

_Be done with this place, and away._

_She hesitated a moment, and took a last glance around at the chaos._

_This was what she'd waited for. _

_This was what she'd dreamt of. _

_This was what she craved. _

_This was what she wanted._

_Turning back to the red eyes she placed her hand lightly in his, and his eyes flashed, morphing into a strange pinwheel before everything faded._

* * *

The whisper of a bird to the morning snapped Kagome out of her musings.

She had that _dream_ again. Of frightening red eyes, and the burning flames that were reflected in them.

It scared her.

_Smoke clouded the sky so thickly, she couldn't tell whether it was night or day._

And it thrilled her.

_A pale hand extended towards her from the depths of that shapeless, black cloak._

Was someone going to come and whisk her away? Some mysterious man…

Away from everything that she knew, everything that she loved- and into something more exciting? She knew that she had a job to do. But it was okay to dream—

"_Come._"

Because at the end of the day, it was just that.

_This was what she'd waited for. This was what she'd dreamt of. This was what she craved. This was what she wanted..._

…_right?_

In the morning, it was just that.

_No one looked her way, and the fire was creeping, creeping, coming closer and closer. Turning back, she placed her hand lightly in his._

A dream.

"_Yes…"_

**tbc.**

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******EDITED: 05/16/11**  



	2. Itachi's Dream

**A/N:** Okay. So here's the second chappie... I'm really sorry that it took so long! I meant for it to be out a while ago, but we're in the process of remodelling, so my computer was out of service for a while. Then, the LAN (Local Area Connection) was down, and I couldn't even access the actual document to finish writing it.

In case anyone gets confused, there was more to the dream than just what Kagome described in the first chapter. (And it isn't the first time she's had that dream, either.) Itachi's rendition of the dream (aka this chapter,) starts off where Kagome's leaves off. More or less, anyways. I hope to do my best to keep Itachi in character throughout this story, but stuff is definitely going to happen that changes the way he behaves, and he'll become more like what he might have been if... well, if he hadn't been forced to murder his clan.

Oh, and a big thank you to all my reviewers! 27 reviews for a first chapter was incredible! THANK YOU!

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**In Dreams - II**

**By ancient-relic**

**-::-**

Itachi groaned, and rolled over.

He knew that he would get no more sleep, not that night.

He had dreamed of her.

...again.

Untangling himself from his dampened sheets, Itachi padded silently to his bathroom before running cold water, and splashing his face several times. It was refreshing... though it did nothing to erase her strange, trusting look from his mind. It was full of something that he couldn't place... something that he didn't want to place.

He felt old and weary. Itachi splashed some of the water onto the back of his neck, and winced as tiny rivulets of the cold water trailed down his back, soaking into the hem-line of his boxers. Cool air stung his bare skin, but he did not shiver.

Something else... someone... somewhere...

_"Yes..."_

Why did her face haunt him so? Why did her smile linger, and her scent tease, and her hand brush his fingers when she so obviously wasn't real? When she so obviously wasn't there... when he so obviously wasn't dreaming.

-::-

_She placed her hand lightly in his, and he marveled silently at how soft it was. _

_When was the last time that he had actually touched a woman? Allowed himself pleasure... content... he shook his mind of such thoughts. There was nothing that could be done about that now._

_The fire was still raging around them wildly, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop the flames for long. Tsukiyomi flooded his eyes and he looked at the strange girl. She blacked out, and he took her into his arms. _

_She was light._

_Taking one last look at the village that he had set aflame, he walked calmly through the burning houses, the same way that he had come. He entered the forest, where the sparks had yet to reach. He moved silently through the trees, until he came to a larger one... the one that had brought him here. It was large, and there was a spot on the trunk of the tree where the bark had been worn off. _

_Readjusting the girl in his arms, he touched the tree lightly, and instantly, he was gone, away from the fire, and away from the screams, and away from those that were searching for the frail girl in his arms. He would not let them take her. _

_He would not let her leave._

_She had something that he wanted… something that he needed. And despite the fact that he couldn't put his finger on just what it was, he knew that she had it, and he was going to get it, one way or another._

_The forest changed from the unfamiliar ones of the girl's world, to the ones that he traveled through every day and night. He could walk through the trees with his eyes closed, and not one would touch him._

But, he had precious cargo tonight, and there was no way that he was going to chance anything happening to it. Moments later, the Akatsuki hideout loomed ahead of him in the dark, shapeless as ever.

He grinned darkly, no one around to witness the sinister sight. Not that they'd live long enough to tell about it… A movement in his arms brought him out of his dark musings. The girl was stirring? What was this? He had thoroughly knocked her out… or so he thought.

She mumbled something that he didn't catch under her breath, and her eyelids fluttered delicately. She looked so frail… and he wondered if his mother had ever appeared this delicate to his father.

As her eyes opened, he stopped walking. Thick lashes separated, showing a pair of liquid brown eyes, staring up with him in a mixture of confusion and awe. Then, all of a sudden, she ripped herself from his arms, and pulled herself to the nearest tree trunk, before retching behind it.

He stood, unsure of what to do, and scoffed at the sound of her vomiting. He had felt nauseous when he had gone through the tree, but he had only been dizzy a moment. Then again, he was undoubtedly more powerful than this frail creature that was emptying her stomach.

When she appeared around the tree, she was chewing something that was giving off a minty smell, and she was looking paler, though better. Something dangling around her neck glinted in the moonlight that filtered through the trees, and his eyes snapped down to her bosom, where a round jewel hung, half of it missing.

There was something that was alluring about its unearthly glow, and he found himself drawing closer. The girl wearing it tensed, and her hand quickly blocked the jewel from his sight, as she tucked it beneath her shirt and out of mind.

Realizing that he had been hypnotized, his eyes moved up her neck and back to her face, where the same pools of honey brown looked at him with fear and uncertainty. Looking carefully at her one more time, he shook his head. Whatever had come over him would not happen again. He would be better prepared for the power of that little trinket next time, and he told her so.

"It will not capture me again." He said quietly, and her form relaxed, marginally. He watched, rather amused, as she looked around with her wide eyes, and then up to the moon with a small smile on her face. She closed her eyes again, and inhaled deeply before sighing, and turning to him.

"No more smoke." She whispered, and he found himself equally captivated by those stunningly deep brown eyes as he had by the half of a jewel around her neck. She yawned, politely covering her mouth and turning away.

He realized that he had woken her from her sleep, and that he had left the hideout while everyone else was sleeping. Grabbing her hand, he led her towards the entrance of the base, which itself was hidden deep within the mountain.

The girl didn't protest, but rubbed her eyes with her free hand, and followed him obligingly. It was then that he realized how tiny her soft hand was in his- so warm and alluring, matching her eyes, and the strange jewel that was hidden beneath the folds of her clothes.

So alluring…

And he realized that he didn't feel like letting it go. Not now.

-::-

Holding his hand up to the mirror, Itachi inspected it closely. Where were these dreams coming from? They were so accurate down to the last detail… and everything about that strange girl with the comforting brown eyes was more real than anything.

A glint caught his eyes, and Itachi's eyes focused on the mirror. Something at about chest height glinted with a pure light- and Itachi held in a breath. Was it that strange girl with her strange necklace?

His eyes focused on the spot in the shadows, and he was left blind when the shine disappeared momentarily. However, it reappeared moments later, and Itachi spun around, and his hand snaked into the darkness, only to come into contact with the knob on the rack that held towels. Moonlight filtered into the room irregularly through a small window, half blocked by foliage.

Scoffing, Itachi left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He was going to find out about this strange girl- and he was going to get her out of his head if it was the last thing that he ever did.

**tbc.**

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**EDITED: 04/24/10**


	3. The Awakening

**A/N:** Okay. Here's the next chapter- I know that you all have been waiting anxiously for this. And I've got some reviews to reply to, again. Butttt... I just had to write something this weekend, and this was what I ended up writing. I wasn't going to bring Itachi in until later on in the story... much later on. However, I decided with the way this chapter seemed to be heading, that I wanted to advance their first meeting. Their whole meeting, actually. I've sort of changed the whole plot line... but you'll hear more on that later.

Also in this chapter, we'll meet some of the Akatsuki, for a brief moment, in any case. I'm sure they'll become important later on. And I do plan on using information on EVERY single member... so it doesn't specifically take place during a particular moment in the Naruto story line. Basically what I'm trying to say, is that we'll meet all of our favourite members, Tobi aside. _Anyhow._

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**In Dreams - III**

**By ancient-relic**

**-::-**

Kagome sat upright with a start. InuYasha stared at her from a rock a little ways off, his hand poised to send another splash her way.

"INU-YA-SHA!" Kagome ground out, glaring at his form. Her night clothes were clinging to her body, and she was shivering in the morning breeze.

The boy just laughed. "That's what you get for wandering away from camp in the middle of the night, and giving everyone a heart attack."

Kagome folded her arms neatly across her chest, and turned away. He had a point… but, "But that's no reason to splash me with cold water!"

InuYasha laughed a little more before he quieted. Kagome watched as he approached, pink lingering on his face. However, before she could say anything, he had dumped his red haori atop her head, and he was gone into the trees.

"You can't come back to camp all wet. Miroku'd have a field day, you know." His voice explained somewhere amongst the trees. "I'll meet you back at camp. We're leaving soon."

Kagome wrapped the haori tighter around her, and inhaled deeply. A wide grin stretched itself her face and she pulled herself off the rock, content to take her time getting back to her friends.

-::-

Itachi blinked.

Kisame frowned.

Sasori coughed.

Zetsu shuffled.

Deidara snickered.

"Itachi,"

"Yes?" he replied, looking into the nothingness where Pein sat.

"Please pay attention."

"Of course, Leader-sama,"

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying… we are going to carry on our search for all of the jinchuriki…"

Itachi turned out the voice that echoed through the room, something that he had never done before. He had just had the most peculiar day-dream… and it (again) consisted of that strange girl who haunted his dreams.

However, it hadn't been like the usual. It had been like a scene from her life, the way that she acted and carried herself. It was if she didn't know that she was watching. The most peculiar part of it all was the strange boy with white hair. She had called him… InuYasha?

He had carried a number of animalistic traits… ears, claws… he shouted canine. His name didn't help either, for that sake. Why were his dreams changing? They had been slowly shifting from smoky, hazy scenes to startlingly realistic images, as if he was viewing a performance.

"Itachi,"

"Kisame," he acknowledged his partner, as he tucked his musings away in the back of his mind.

"The meeting's over."

Itachi remained silent, looking around. It was true- there was no one else in the room now, except for Kisame. Turning on his heel, Itachi moved silently out of the room leaving Kisame to follow at his own pace. Of course, he did.

Walking aimlessly, Itachi exited the hideout and moved swiftly through the trees, his feet carrying him to an unknown destination. However, as soon as he realized he didn't know where he was going, he realized where he was going.

The tree that took him through dimensions… it was in this forest.

He stopped walking. His feet would no longer take him to the tree. Not now that he realized what was happening.

_Why?_ He demanded. _Take me there. I need-_

"Itachi?" Kisame asked, appearing from the branches of a tree. "What's gotten into you? You've been acting really strange, recently."

"It's nothing, Kisame." He replied, closing his eyes tightly. "It's nothing."

Itachi turned back towards the hideout, throwing a lingering gaze over his shoulders, and into the trees; where, somewhere, the gate lay to that mysterious girl.

-::-

Kagome shivered.

She had long gotten rid of her wet nightclothes, but for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on her back.

Feeling much too shy and timid for her own good, she approached InuYasha, and tugged on his sleeve. He turned to look at her, his amber eyes both surprised and concerned.

"What is it?"

"Can…" she hesitated. What should she say? "Can you smell anyone else around us?"

InuYasha gave her a funny look. However, he obliged her request, and inhaled deeply several times. "Nope. Nothing unusual, that's for sure."

Kagome shivered again. InuYasha's arm twitched, like it wanted to do something. However, he must have thought better about it, because it didn't move.

"Why? Is something the matter?" he asked gruffly, his hand trailing down to rest on Tetsusaiga's hilt.

"I feel like some one is watching me." Kagome replied quietly.

InuYasha looked at Kagome out of the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything more. A slight frown made itself present on his face and sat there decidedly, and for the rest of the walk, Kagome stayed close by his side.

-::-

Kagome stared up at the stars that blinked brightly in the night sky. It had remained with her all day- that feeling of being watched. It kept her on edge all day long, and she had upset a bowl of ramen all over her sleeping bag when Shippo had bounded into the cabin Kaede had provided.

Now, she was outside, sitting in a new yukata that the bathhouse had provided for her. She heard the rustle of clothing approach, and she smelt InuYasha on the breeze that accompanied him. He sat down behind her, and Kagome pushed herself backward until she was leaning against him comfortably. He made no move to welcome her, but he didn't push her away, either.

Kagome smiled to herself.

"Are you all right?" he asked her quietly, his nose pressing softly against her head as he moved. Her scent was soft; as was her hair.

Kagome didn't say anything. The feeling still wasn't gone. What was she supposed to say to that? That her sixth sense was telling her that she was being watched? Stalked? Spied upon?

"I don't know." She opted for instead. "It feels like someone is watching everything that I do… but I know that there's no one there. There can't be anyone there. I know, because I check."

InuYasha was just as confused as Kagome was, however he didn't say anything. Kagome had been strangely silent all day, sticking close by his side as they walked. Of course, she hadn't been overly distant… but not even Shippo could pull her out of her strange funk.

"Well, try and get some sleep. I'll keep watch tonight… and you can go home tomorrow. It won't follow you there, will it?" InuYasha questioned.

Kagome laughed. "You just want more ramen, don't you?"

InuYasha scratched his head sheepishly. "So? It works out for the better for both of us."

Kagome shook her head. She nearly let out a shriek of surprise, however, when InuYasha grabbed her firmly around the middle in a brief hug, and then disappeared. He was awfully concerned… wasn't he?

She looked up to the trees where she was sure that InuYasha had disappeared off to. Sending him a smile, she picked herself up, and disappeared into the little cabin, where her friends were already all asleep.

-::-

Itachi blinked.

It had happened again!

How many times today had he found himself blinking awake from a day dream that included that girl? Not only had it caught him at several embarrassing times, after a particularly vivid vision of her bathing with another young woman, he had to excuse himself to the bathroom for a shower.

Kisame was still snickering about it hours later, so Itachi found himself alone in the forest, keeping to himself. His feet were not taking him where he wanted to go, and so he was aimlessly walking around, searching for the tree that had eluded him all day.

He needed-

_There._

He found it.

The tree was large, surrounded by moss, and leaves and bushes. It would have been mistaken for just another tree if he had not immediately recognized the bare spot on the wide trunk with the notch hole.

Reaching out, his hand didn't press on wood, but air. Moving forward, Itachi pressed himself through the tree.

-::-

Kagome woke up suddenly. A feeling that she couldn't name raced through her, pounding violently in her ears in time with her heart.

It was here.

Whatever that had been watching her. She could just tell.

Standing up from her futon, she snuck out of the room, and into the crisp night breeze. Her feet pointed her at the Goshinboku, and she willingly followed, grabbing her bows and arrows as she went.

-::-

Itachi moved from where he had frozen, as the nausea from his dream washed over him. No wonder the girl had retched.

He didn't need to go looking for the girl, however, because she approached him now, through the shrubbery, an arrow pointing at his heart.

"You!" she gasped, dropping her bow and arrow.

Itachi stared at her as she stared back, and neither of them moved. Taking the moment to his advantage, Itachi let himself look over the petite girl who now stood frozen in front of him. A white sleeping yukata covered her, though he knew what was hidden beneath it.

Her hair flowed freely in the wind, and her brown eyes looked black in the dark light of the moon. Black like his…

Kagome watched in shock as his red eyes faded into a coal black, which blended eerily with the night around them. She found herself standing stock still, her muscles tensed- he was moving closer.

She wanted to run- she wanted to yell, and scream; he was closer now. She wanted to ask him so many questions… she wanted-

Itachi grabbed her, pulling her to him by her hands. She was light-

_He took her into his arms. She was light._

Kagome did nothing as he pulled her flush against him. She felt his hands move up her back, to her neck. Again, a shiver ran down her spine, and she trembled. His hands were soft, his touch light. He had been the one watching her.

She could not place his scent- or his clothes, or his face. His hands lingered against her skin, calloused fingers mere whispers against her neck and leaving tingles in their place. He pulled back her hair, which exposed her throat, and tilted her head so she stared straight into his gaze. Black eyes stared down at her, and she felt her face burn with the intensity of his stare.

_Thick lashes separated, showing a pair of liquid brown eyes._

Itachi watched her, before lowering his face to her hair. There was the eluding scent of chamomile and ginseng. He moved his face further down, until his lips brushed her neck. He could feel her trembling beneath him, but she did not pull herself away.

His nose and mouth traced a scorching line across her skin echoing the paths his fingers had taken, before pausing at a place right above her collarbone. Kagome inhaled sharply when his tongue brushed her skin, but quickly fell to the feeling, letting him do as he pleased.

She tasted sweet.

Itachi let his hands trail down her body, feeling her skin beneath the yukata she was wearing in an assurance of his sanity. _She is real_, he told himself. _I'm _touching_ her. She's _feeling_ me_. When he found her hands, he cupped them carefully in his own before moving them to his face and stared straight into her eyes again. Kagome watched him uncertainly. What was he doing? It was like looking into Sesshomaru's golden eyes, yet there was no malice in this stranger.

Her hands were resting between his face and his hands, both as real an as soft as she had dreamed they were. Suddenly, his black eyes turned red again, and his hands left hers. Placing a black knife in her hand, he turned away.

"This is real."

Kagome heard InuYasha calling her name. Itachi stopped walking, and turned to look at her. Shying away, Kagome turned around, grabbed her discarded bow and arrow, and ran.

With that, Itachi walked through the tree again, leaving the strange girl- _Kagome, it seems_- behind again.

However, this time, he knew she was real. As he remembered the soft smell of her hair, and the delicious taste of her skin, he knew.

Something had awakened.

And he would not stop until he had her.

**tbc.**

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**EDITED: 04/24/10**


	4. Eyes Wide Shut

**A/N: **I must say, I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. I didn't mean for it to, but somehow, it did, and then you had to suffer for it. Then, I re-read the summary of the story, and I realized that the way I had written this chapter, it didn't really fit. Everything that I was trying to draw out just was happening waaay too fast.

So I re-wrote the chapter.

And this is what I came up with.

Be sure to tell me what you think!!!

Several big thankyous go out to the following people... firstly, to **No Idea whatsoever **for being my 100th REVIEWER!! It made me very, very happy. A big thanks to you, (No Idea) and to all of my reviewers who helped to get me to 100 before I even posted Chapter 4. Another big thankyou goes out to **Lady Akatsuki**, for giving me all the information that I could have needed for the Akatsuki's characters.

So. Now. Without further ado...

On with Chapter 4!!

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**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I do not own Itachi. I do not own Kagome either… but the whole 'no Itachi' thing makes me sadder.

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**In Dreams**

**Chapter Four: Eyes Wide Shut**

**By ancient-relic**

Kagome held the black blade close to her chest. She could hear that InuYasha was calling her, from wherever he was. Turning purposely through the trees, she stopped by a river, allowing the spray from rocks to wash over her body, dampening her clothes.

Would it dampen _his _scent as well?

InuYasha made it into the clearing moments later, and Kagome pretended to be picking her way along the river. Would he suspect her?

"Kagome- there you are!! I was looking for you. What's up with you leaving camp in the middle of the night?" InuYasha yelled- his face red. He was either worried, or furious. Kagome was sure that it was both.

"I woke up in a cold sweat that smelled suspiciously of ramen. I needed a quick wash." Kagome replied smoothly, hoping that InuYasha wouldn't call her on her lie.

InuYasha stared at her, wide eyed, before sending her a grim, accusatory look. "Then where's your bath stuff?"

"I was half asleep. I didn't even realize that I didn't have anything with me until I was already in the water." She continued, brushing past him.

"And you brought your bow and arrows?" he frowned, crossing his arms and following her, much more subdued than when he had found her.

"Habit." She tossed over her shoulder, wringing out her semi-damp hair.

InuYasha snorted. "Why doesn't it seem like you're not telling me something? Were you meeting someone? Because you know, my nose doesn't lie."

Kagome winced, but put on a hard face as she stopped walking and turned around.

"Am I not allowed to have time to myself anymore? Where do you get off accusing me? Now you know what I feel like every time you disappear with Kikyo. LIKE I'VE BEEN DITCHED!" she yelled, spinning around again.

Raising a hand to her face, Kagome felt the solitary tear that ran from her eye, unbidden. She couldn't hear InuYasha following her, and the tears easily came down full force, hot tracks running down her face eagerly.

Was this what InuYasha felt like every time she accused him of running off with Kikyo? It was horrible. It felt like someone had punched her stomach… and she fought off a wave of nausea. How could she have so blatantly lied for a man she didn't even know about?

Her tears had temporarily abated, and Kagome brought a hand to her neck, where his tongue had met her skin earlier. She knew (mostly hoped) that there'd be a mark there for her to show her friends… Yuka would certainly get a kick out of Kagome's newest acquisition.

Her feet took her straight to the well, and Kagome did not spare her back a second glance as she swung her feet over the sides of the wooden rim, and flung herself to the future, her hand still tightly clutching the black blade beneath her sleeve.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Itachi felt his chest contract painfully, and he sat straight up in his bed, again awakened by a strange vision of the girl, Kagome.

She had lied for him, right to the face of that strange inu creature, and then ran away.

He needed to find her.

His chest was heaving, and there was a light sheen of sweat glistening on his skin. Not to mention the strange, pulsating pain that stole his breath away.

Something was telling him that he needed to go- and so without taking a moment to slip sandals on his feet, he was gone, in nothing more than hakama and fishnet to the tree that he had passed through earlier that day.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Kagome sobbed fruitlessly at the bottom of the well. She knew that it would be many hours before anyone was even awake at her house… there was no light shining into the well house.

Curling into herself in the soil of the well-bottom, she didn't bother pulling herself up from her original sprawled position in the middle of the hole. InuYasha would know better than to do anything tonight- she had the rest of the night, and the morning, to mourn over her stupidity, and to drown herself in guilt.

Confusion ripped through her with every thought of what had just transpired, and Kagome found herself torn. She wanted to hate that strange man for what he had done- and causing such a problem. If he would just leave her alone, godamnit! But she couldn't bring herself to think badly of him…

Her sobs were silent now, tears soaking the ground beneath her face, turning the soil to a damp mud. All the while she allowed herself to lie on the ground, Kagome's eyes stayed trained on the cold black blade in her hand, transfixed.

It seemed like hours later when her eyes could no longer stay open, but her tears drained them, and dried them, and when she could no longer hold them open, Kagome closed them.

And she slept.

And she dreamed.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Itachi pressed his hand to the tree, testing it in a precautionary gesture before he pulled himself through it. You couldn't be too cautious with such a surreal tree.

Of course, he had never questioned the origins of the strange tree, and he noted that he could not recall seeing it before. However, his thoughts were distracted when a tingle of power ran up his arm, and he pulled it back on reflex.

Where his hand had touched the tree rippled like water, a pink spark popping from it, and disappearing with a crack. Several others followed suit, until the light grew to be blinding. There was a heated tingling beneath his hand, and he had to draw his hand away.

Why was the tree rejecting him?

NO!

Itachi pounded the tree with his fist.

Why? Why? _Why?_

Then pain grasped him, and instead of whacking the tree again, he slumped to the forest floor.

He had no control over his limbs. They weren't listening to him. A single word ran through his head, despite the gripping pain that washed over him in waves.

**Why?**

As the pink glow of the tree subsided, Itachi noted that his eyelids were feeling rather heavy. A blackness was encompassing him. His anger allowed him to fight it, but it overwhelmed him a moment later and his eyes closed, his fist sliding down to his side limply.

Unconsciousness gripped him.

Dreams gripped him.

Itachi rolled over in his dream, but even the roughness of the forest floor didn't wake him.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

_Itachi's body was tingling. Adrenaline was pumping fast and furiously through his veins. He had an acute sense of himself, and ever move he made was like he was making it for the first time._

_Placing one foot in front of the other, he moved in a steady motion, going forward, yet nowhere at all. There was a deep, never ending nothingness that was surrounding him, as if waiting to swallow him whole. But it didn't._

_Instead, it formed something solid and hard beneath his feet, and his legs grew accustomed to the motions he was making. He was moving forward. _

_As he walked, the landscape around him grew. Grass. Trees. Rocks, and stones, and patterned concrete._

_He could not recognize where he was, but he walked forward regardless, keeping an eye out for anything that would belay his position._

_A building sprung from the ground ahead of him, and Itachi walked without question, toward it. Though he didn't know what was inside, he knew that he had to go there. Something was drawing it to him as the ancient tree had drawn him to it… and there was no escaping the magical tug._

_As he got closer, a tree sprang up to his left. It grew, and grew, and grew… and it stretched to the heavens above, and it grew and leaves sprouted like hair, and branches unfurled and shivered like they had been curled away, and sleeping._

_Itachi stopped and stood stiller than he could ever remember being, and stared at the tree, waiting for something that he didn't know. As if it had been asked, the tree shivered in a non-existent wind, and it leant towards the left, where the hut was still waiting._

_Turning, Itachi moved to the door, and waited a moment, before opening the sliding doors in a swift motion. It was dark inside, and it took a moment for his eyes adjust to the dark._

_It was plain, nothing decorating the walls. There were stairs that disappeared into the darkness, but beyond that, Itachi could see nothing. He debated using his Sharingan, but refrained, at the shuffling sound that met his ears. He walked down the steps in rather awkward movements, as if it wasn't him who was controlling his body. _

_At the bottom of the small flight of stairs, there was a large oblong shape. Further inspection proved it to be a rectangular well. The lid had snapped in two, and was laying on either side of the ancient wood._

_Again, Itachi's body moved forward with a motion that didn't seem like his own, and he stared down into the depths of the dry well. It was a surprise, and at the same time, it wasn't, when his eyes got a glimpse of a girl, curled into herself at the well bottom._

_Moments of inspection showed that it was a familiar form that was sleeping gently in the dirt far, far below. It was Kagome, the girl from his dreams, lying there, motionless at the bottom of the well. He couldn't say what she was doing there… but he didn't know what he was doing there anyhow. He didn't even know where he was._

_But something was telling him that he had to go down to the bottom of the well. She needed him. It was the pain that woke him from a night's sleep. It consumed him like the need for revenge, slowly seeping through his body wrapping itself around him until there was nothing on his mind besides the pain that he felt and the pain she was feeling and the pain that was consuming him._

_Like an unspoken mantra, the pain he had thought he had escaped was back, and pulsating through him. Without a second thought, he jumped to the girl, who was moaning feverishly._

_All of a sudden, her eyes snapped open, and darted around wildly. They connected with his form, and she lept at him, something flashing in her left hand. Itachi was stunned. He couldn't move. He was captured by the wild look in her eyes… so frightened, and desperate. He couldn't move. She was coming at him, and suddenly, there was room all around them- he could have moved. There was a light shining from the top of the well, telling him that he was still deep in the depths of the ancient hole. He couldn't move. She was approaching. He couldn't move. She was an eternity away. He couldn't move. Then, she was in front of him. _

_And then, he caught her wild swing, and stopped the blade right as it cut into his shoulder. She jerked out of his grip, and the blade ripped into his bare skin, yet strangely, it didn't bleed._

_Looking at him in horror, Kagome almost dropped the black blade. She had attacked the person who had given it to her. She felt sick. However, strong arms wrapped around her, and she was cocooned in him._

_Then, they were outside, and the well was far in the distance. He was walking mechanically, she noted. As soon as she noted his gait, it changed. Itachi was glad as he regained a superior sense of control over his legs. As he walked, the motion changed to the battle ready motions that he was comfortable with. His cargo shifted, and his eyes connected with hers for an instant._

_Kagome gasped as she stared into his red eyes. He held her stare. She couldn't move. She saw the past in his eyes. She saw her friends getting hurt. She saw her grandfather in the hospital, after his little shed had burned. She saw people she didn't know, dying at the hands of demons._

_And she saw the village on fire. She saw the flames reflected in his eyes, simmering like they would burst into motion like a tiger preparing to pounce. But then, she blinked, and his gaze was gone._

_Then, all of a sudden, they were in her room, and he was placing her on her bed. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to ask, "What's your name?"_

_He was pushing her backwards, trying to get her to let go. She didn't, and pulled him down with her._

"_Itachi," he said._

_She was startled._

"_My name,"_

_Kagome smiled._

_Fatigue attacked her, and she barely noticed that she was still holding the black blade, and Itachi's arm._

_She lay there unmoving, and the gentle colours of her room disappeared, fading into black. A smile graced her face for a moment, as she listened to Itachi's heartbeat beside her. _

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

"Kagome, dear."

A voice was tickling her ear. Kagome rolled over and ignored it.

"Kagome, dear. Wake up!"

There it was again. Kagome groaned, and grumbled. Now, it was shaking her. Why was the voice bothering her? Couldn't it see she wanted to sleep?

"Kagome," the voice was exasperated now.

Kagome burrowed deeper beneath the blankets. Her mother wasn't supposed to wake her up. It was InuYasha who woke her up… and he wasn't this gentle.

Then, it hit her. Her mother was waking her up. That meant she was at home. Memories of last night came flooding to her. There was the ninja. And she had lied to InuYasha, then run to the well. Kagome wearily opened her eyes.

Her mother's face came into view. "Mama…?" her voice was raspy.

"Oh, Kagome dear!! I'm so glad you're home again! We haven't seen you in ages!!" she wiped a tear from her eye. Kagome smiled up at her.

"But how on earth did you get in the house without us hearing? The doors were all locked for the night, dear."

Kagome stared at her mother in confusion. "You didn't bring me in?"

"No, dear." Her mother shook her head with a smile. "We were all asleep,"

Kagome's mind raced to her dream. Her ninja… _Itachi._ He had carried her out of the well, and into her bed. Sitting straight up, Kagome looked to the place in the bed beside her.

The covers were folded back, like someone had been lying there, and then got up and moved. Placing her hands onto the sheets, she was shocked to find them warm.

"Oh, god…" Kagome paled.

"Kagome dear? What is it?" her mother asked, worried. Reaching out, she placed a hand on her forehead, and Kagome slumped back down into the bed.

"Was… was there anyone else in the room? Anyone in the house?" Kagome asked, worried. If he had taken her to her room, then was he still somewhere in the area?

"No, silly." Kagome mom chuckled. "Did you have a fight with InuYasha? He hasn't been here, if that's what you're asking. He hasn't been here all morning."

"What time is it?"

"Just after one, sleepyhead." She replied, rising from her knees. "I'll go get you something to eat."

"Okay." Kagome sighed. "Thanks, mom."

As soon as she heard her mom's footsteps retreating down the stairs, Kagome slumped down into the sheets. She grinned to herself a moment, before letting his name roll over her tongue and out her lips.

"Itachi…"

She grinned again, before rolling over. She spotted the little black blade on her night table. Burying her smile in the other side of the pillow, she inhaled deeply, savoring the scent that filled her nostrils.

Smoke…

**To Be Continued...**

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**A/N:** Just so you know, there is a time difference between Itachi's world, and Kagome's world. The difference is that time passes faster for Itachi… though it's nothing more than about two hours faster. That's why he was already asleep and whatnot when Kagome was just returning home through the well.

Now that that all has been clarified, I must again, and as always, ask you what you think about this chapter. Please, let me know in a review!! I always love to hear from you.

As always,

**ancient-relic**


	5. Sleepwalking

**A/N:** So... this was out a little faster than I had expected it to be, but here it is, anyhow. I hope this chapter comes out to everyone's par!!

However, please note that the next chapter will take a little longer than normal to get out. I have other stories that I want to post, and on top of that, I have school, so... You do the math.

That aside, PLEASE ENJOY THE CHAPTER!!

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**In Dreams**

**Chapter Five: The Walking Dream**

**By ancient-relic**

Kisame looked over at his partner, who was simply sitting at the table, staring at the wall.

He had been sitting there, doing nothing, for a good 10 minutes now, and though there was no way that Kisame would admit it out loud, he was really starting to get worried.

Something…

…

Itachi shifted, and glanced at Kisame. However, Kisame quickly noted that Itachi was not looking _at_ him, he was looking _though_ him.

Yes.

Something, obviously quite serious, was wrong with Itachi Uchiha.

Finally, not being able to put up with Itachi's blank eyes, he stood up abruptly, and marched over to Itachi, and knocked him right out of his chair with an abrupt shove.

Itachi's mind was somewhere else, and had not even been paying attention to Kisame, so of course, by the time that he had registered that Kisame had indeed pushed him off his chair; it was too late to react more than twisting himself so that he did not crash into the table.

Rising to his feet, Itachi stomped on one of the chair legs, splintering it.

"What…" he said, lifting his head to look angrily at Kisame, "was that for?!"

Kisame looked rather unsure- any other time he had met this angry look, it was not directed at him, but another person. And moments afterwards, that person was usually dead.

Itachi looked at him expectantly, his eyes switching over to the Sharingan, whether of his own volition or not.

Making up his mind, Kisame sent Itachi a scathing look in response, before snapping at him, all the irritation coming out in a manner not unlike his water jutsu.

"YOU'RE BLOODY OUT OF YOUR MIND! DID YOU NOT REALIZE THAT YOU'VE BEEN STARING AT THE WALL FOR THE PAST 10 MINUTES?"

Kisame had never quite blown up in the way he was yelling before, and Itachi's eyes reverted to their natural state, more out of surprise than anything else.

"WHATEVER IT IS THAT'S ON YOUR MIND, BLOODY BE DONE WITH IT ALREADY, BECAUSE IT'S DRIVING EVERYONE INSANE, ESPECIALLY YOU!" Huffing and puffing, Kisame glared at Itachi, who remained silent, staring at his heaving partner.

"Well." Itachi said, looking away, before turning a sharp glance on Kisame.

With that, he turned abruptly, and walked away, leaving an overly-flustered Kisame staring at the broken chair, and wondering why he was still standing and breathing.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Itachi strode into the bathroom, to take a cold shower. He needed to wake up- Kisame was right. These little dreams of his were starting to take away from everything… they were starting to possess him. And if he did not do anything about it, then there was no doubt that this mysterious "Kagome" was going to drive him insane.

Stripping, he stepped into the near-freezing water. Running his hands through his hair was soothing, and he let his hands and the water that was pelting his head sooth his mind.

Of course, his soothed, calm mind soon began to wander.

_I don't suppose she's a real person? But that doesn't explain what happened._ As he let the water run over him, he winced as it pelted unrelentingly on his back, which was already sore from lying on the forest floor.

That morning, he had risen with the sun, and from the forest floor. He remembered trying to get through the tree… and the strange grasping pain that had consumed his chest and made it hard to breathe. He also remembered looking around for the strange tree that he had slumped against, only to discover that it was no where to be seen.

His shoulder was also still tender, and there was a diagonal gash that ran across his shoulder- but it didn't bleed. Of course, he didn't wait to see if it would, and had immediately gone to Kazuku to get it stitched, as he couldn't do it with one hand.

His injuries did not add up to what he remembered, and what had actually happened. He remembered Kagome lashing out at him in fear. He remembered falling asleep beside her, and languishing in her downy comforter and her delicious scent of citrus.

_So why did I wake up in the forest?_

There was no denying the evidence that had happened to him during his "encounter" with Kagome. However, he had no memory of the in between times- from when the power and pain had grasped him completely, and when he had fallen asleep in a bed, and woken in the forest.

Turning the water off with a jerky action, Itachi stepped out of the shower, and wasted no time in drying off, and dressing. As he walked down the hall, he brushed past a dazed Kisame, and watched as Deidara approached, frantically trying to get away from Tobi who was chattering madly into his ear about something that he could really care less about.

Tobi stared at Itachi in wonder as he walked past, and even Deidara had the grace to raise an eyebrow in his direction.

"Itachi-san, is something bothering you, yeah?" Deidara asked, looking at him with a strange look in his eyes. Tobi remained silent.

Itachi turned his 'don't bother me' stare on Deidara, only surprised to find that Deidara's eyes were no longer on his face, but had trailed down to his neck, which was revealed only because his cloak was getting mended, and thus, did not have it on.

"Yeah!" Tobi chirped, his eyes on his neck. Itachi was beginning to wonder if his teammates were sane. "Like _girl_ troubles?"

Itachi tensed, and glared at them for all he was worth, before brushing past them, willing his feet faster without it being a run. He needed to get to the library, and fast. There was no saying what weird things the next person he ran into would say.

Upon finally reaching the library, Itachi practically slumped into a plush chair, after grabbing several books on his way to the chair.

Piling them on a little table beside where he was sitting, he propped his feet up, and opened the book on his lap, and immersed himself in its pages. Pages stretched into chapters, which stretched into books, and before Itachi had time to think, he had finished the four books he had brought with him, and gave the room a rather disoriented look.

_There are legends of a strange female who had the ability to forcibly quell demons. They say it was her who had vanquished them, and it was her who originally found the methods to seal them. _

Itachi mulled over the last book, entitled The Origin of the Mighty Nine. Though the sources were questionable, there was no doubt that part of it was true. It spoke of ancient times, and of demons roaming freely, and of specially trained humans who had special abilities to fight against the demons and their evil powers.

_**Chapter 9- The Origin of the Holy Ones**_

_**There was once a time where demons were as abundant as humans, and when humans were nothing more than farmers. This was the age of the Demons.**_

_**Demons were ruthless, as always. There were different types, different species. They ranged from dogs, wolves, members of the feline family, fish, and creatures that could fly- not to mention everywhere in between. The special thing about demons is that they could crossbreed. Species that were part of one demon, and part of another were common, as well as the occasional half-demon, who was half human.**_

_**Humans lived in fear of demons, and did what they could to leave them alone, and stay out of their way. Demons did not feed on human flesh, though they could if they so chose. Most demons had a general dislike for humans, and only bothered with them if they crossed paths. This was the Age of the Demons.**_

_**However, there were humans whose hatred for the demons was as strong as the demon's hate for humans. They trained, and fought against the demons. However, the demons were stronger and faster- overall better in every way.**_

_**When it was discovered that humans were being sent to their death, something changed in the world. Around that time, a baby was born with powers that rivaled the demons. However, in every way that the demon's power was evil, the child's power was good.**_

_**This was the start of the Holy Ones, a group of people who gained supernatural abilities, which allowed them to kill the demons. Children were appearing everywhere with this strange power, and through an unknown source, they were being trained to use it effectively against the demons.**_

_**Wars sprung up everywhere, as these Holy Ones with powers started being born with more and more numbers, until the fate of all the demons that were still alive was death upon sight.**_

_**Not much is known about how the demons fought back against the Holy Ones, but demons were known to have their own battles amongst themselves, with the gathered power going to the victor. Supposedly, this was how the legendary nine were created.**_

_**Those smart enough hid from the Holy Ones, and the Age of the Demons came to an end. The Age of the Holy Ones began.**_

_**Humans lived peacefully after that, and the Holy Ones dispersed. With nothing left to use their powers for, the Holy Ones started to spend their time on other things. **_

_**Some became soldiers for hire, their abilities giving them advantages in combat. The first ninja[name unknown was derived from this people, along with the discovery of chakra.**_

_**While Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu evolved with time, it is unsure how Kekkei Genkai came to be; though speculation says that the special abilities of a specific clan came from the half-demons, who married humans, and had children… and so forth, until any demonic genes were only shown through abilities. (For further details on chakra and other ninja techniques and abilities, see Chapter 24- The Ninja Ways, page 835) (For information on Kekkei Genkai and it's relation to demons, refer to Chapter 18- Demonic Humans, page 597)**_

_**All this grew to become the way of the ninja. However, not all of the Holy Ones turned to such lifestyles. Those who were tired of fighting settled down and became healers, and other medical-related personnel. However, fighting became life again, between different ninja colonies that had risen, and the gentle lifestyles of the remaining Holy Ones were dwindling.**_

_**Time only sees this group of people die out, until the sight of one is rare. People are still born with the abilities of a Holy One, but there is no one alive to train the ability, so it goes unchecked, and unused, so eventually it dies out. Few people even know how to recognize the latent abilities anymore. If a fully-fledged Holy One were ever discovered, there would likely be a revolution.**_

Itachi closed the book, after reading the excerpt for what seemed like the millionth time. But where did Kagome fit in it all? Was she one of the Holy Ones? Was she from a past time? That would explain the demons he always saw her with…

Gentle footsteps broke him from his musings. However, looking up, he saw no one.

"Who's there?"

No one answered, though Itachi had expected as much.

With a quiet sigh, Itachi rose, and turned to pick up his books, only to see Zetsu standing there, staring at him rather expectantly.

"Oh, Zetsu." Itachi replied, seeming rather relieved. He was more worried that it would be someone else to look at him strangely and comment on his love life.

"So it is true," came the deep rumbling of White Zetsu.

Itachi looked up at him from gathering his books, and pinned him with a glare. What on earth had gotten into everyone? Zetsu, as always, seemed unaffected by his glares, and focused his strange stare on Itachi's bare neck.

"What?" Itachi asked irritably.

"**I believe you have what you humans like to call… a **_**hickey**_** on your neck."** Black Zetsu replied, and smiled rather smugly at his abashed look before disappearing.

Dumping the books, Itachi promptly teleported himself to outside the base, and made for the nearest river. Glancing down into the water, he watched his reflection carefully. As it stared back at him, it's eyes widened in shock as he saw what the others had been looking at all day- a fading red mark, no bigger than his thumbnail.

Despite it's size- there was no mistaking what it was, and Itachi put a hand to his neck, covering it from sight.

_Of all the times to need my cloak repaired,_ he thought irritably. But his thoughts quickly turned to more pleasant ones, as it occurred to him that it was Kagome who left the mark in the first place: as he had left one on her. As his mind yet again began to drift to other… more pleasant things, his vision went black, and he slumped to the ground.

**-- Itachi's Vision --**

"_Kagome, dear, your oden is ready to go!" a voice wafted up the stairs, along with the warm smell of beef ramen._

_Kagome stepped out of the bathroom, steam escaping the room, and surrounding her towel-clad form in a misty halo for a moment before it dispersed._

"_Okay, mom. I'll be right down!!" Kagome chirped, yelling out her room door before shutting it so she could dress._

_Stepping daintily over to her dresser, she dropped the towel, and set about slipping into some more comfortable clothes. She eventually decided on a pair of overly large sweatpants, and a little t-shirt, which stopped before the waistband of her pants. It was obviously getting a little too small._

_Tossing her towel over a rack on the inside of her bathroom's door, she walked out of the room, leaving it empty to Itachi's eye- though his mind was still burning with her naked reflection in the mirror._

**-- End Itachi's Vision --**

Itachi shuddered on the ground, and lifted his head, waiting almost expectantly for the grogginess that followed a vision to dissipate. As soon as it had, he wasted no time in wading into the river in front of him, and dunking his head under the water several times.

When he was satisfied that he was quite thoroughly soaked, he moved to one of the larger submerged rocks in the river, and sat cross legged on it. Only his chest was out of the water now, and he was getting rather chilled from the breeze on his wet skin, but he ignored it.

He did _not_ plan on getting out of the water anytime soon. For now, he was rather content to sit where he was, and let his mind wander into a different place in time and space, where a rather naïve young girl was causing havoc on his senses without even realizing it.

**To Be Continued…**

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**A/N: **Okay. I didn't take much time with this... and I'm afraid that Itachi might be a little out of character. I hope you all like it though... even as it is.

Please let me know what you think...

IN A REVIEW, OF COURSE!!!

**ancient-relic**


	6. Day Dreaming

A/N: HEEEYYY! Sorry for the wait. I have a question for you all. Does anyone notice the names of the chapters? And how they're all like, sleeping slash dreaming things? Or is it just me?

PLEASE BE FORWARNED! This chapter should get a higher rating, for Itachi's bad mouth. But the story (and Itachi) demanded that I make him use such vulgar language. It suited the story as I wrote. XD

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and InuYasha. I'm not cool enough. :(

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**In Dreams**

**Chapter Six: Day Dreaming**

**By ancient-relic**

Kagome grimaced. Her pack was heavy, as she climbed out of the well. Usually InuYasha was here to help her…

But oh yeah.

They kinda-sorta weren't talking at the moment. Mostly because Kagome had almost made out with a random ninja, and then InuYasha had almost caught them, and then Kagome had lied to his face and then ran off.

After heaving her bag over the side, Kagome rested on the lip of the well for a moment, before standing up and stretching. She had forgone her uniform for the sweatpants, shirt and sneakers that she had put on at her house… she wasn't really in the mood for a skirt. No- she was feeling a little moody, and therefore needed her comfy clothes.

Taking up her large bag once more, Kagome headed towards the village, where Sango and Miroku and Shippo and Kirara were waiting for her. InuYasha might be with them… but Kagome had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't there.

Not taking time to dwell on the situation, Kagome's thoughts turned to her ninja, _Itachi_. She wondered vaguely if 'weasel' was an appropriate name for him… but seeing as he was a ninja, she didn't doubt that he had to be sneaky, like his namesake.

He was most certainly the most handsome person she had seen since InuYasha's older brother, Sesshomaru. And of course, while Itachi did seem to be equally as (or if not more so) cold and emotionless as Sesshomaru, Kagome hoped that it was a front. She didn't know much of anything about him, but she wanted him to be something more to her than a ninja who appeared when she was distressed. She didn't need someone to hide away in the forest, or wherever, and only come to her when she was alone.

And Kagome knew that what she wanted from Itachi wasn't likely something that he would be able to return, not with InuYasha, and not with his general nature, if he was anything like Sesshomaru. But she couldn't help but want it, anyhow. She had given up a while ago on InuYasha giving her what she wanted.

,',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','

_Kagome rose up into a sitting position to find nothing._

_She was in a dark room, adorned only with the bed she was laying on, a bedside table, and an empty desk and chair. There was a door at one end of the room, and there was a window, high up on the wall, on another._

_The room was made out of smooth stone, as if the whole room had been carved out of rock. Rising, Kagome found a small pair of slippers waiting beside the bed. Slipping them on, she walked to the window, but it was too high for her to see out of, so she quickly gave up the endeavor. What she could gather from the window that wherever she was, it was night._

_Heading for the door, Kagome righted her black sleeping yukata, and opened the door. The hallway was dark, still made out of stone, and was lighted by lamps that hung from the wall every three feet on opposite sides of the hall._

_Heading left, Kagome walked making sure to keep her hand against the wall so that she wouldn't loose her way. After passing several lamps, Kagome's hand discovered a discrepancy in the smooth stone wall- another door._

_Moving her hand gently, she opened the door as smoothly as possible, turning the knob with uttermost attention, so that it would make no noise. Behind the door, she found another room; although this one was different from the last one, ever so slightly. There were two beds in this room, and they were both smaller than the one she had woken in. They were placed on opposite sides of the room, with a desk in the middle, below the window, which only showed a starry sky. Only one bed was occupied, and Kagome noted that there was a sword, all wrapped and bundled, sitting beside the bed._

_Walking hesitantly into the room, Kagome first moved towards the bed that was unoccupied. Touching the sheets, she was surprised to find them warm to the touch. Leaning closer, Kagome caught a familiar scent of smoke, and she knew immediately whose bed she had stumbled upon. It was Itachi's._

_That meant, wherever she was, she was with Itachi. He had brought her here. Turning to the other bed, Kagome approached, still carefully, but a little more assured. Her protector was with her here, and judging by the warmth of the bed, not far._

_Looking at the second bed's occupant, Kagome let out a gasp. The man looked like he was part shark! Even though her breath was small, it seemed to be enough to rouse the shark man, and he rolled over in his bed, before affixing her with a dark-eyed glare._

_Kagome whimpered, and shuffled away from the bed, slowly, as the shark-man looked at her predatorily. "I-I-Itachi…"_

_However, the shark-man's expression changed at hearing the girl's whimpered word, and he rose out of the bed, angrily._

"_You! You're the one-!!"_

,',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','

Kagome woke up, panting. She had made it to the village, and upon finding that her friends had gone out for the day, had decided to take a nap in the sun, just outside the forest. Now, the sun was setting, and there was a crisp breeze that was starting to blow through the area, which didn't help the feeling of cold sweat on the back of her neck, at _all_.

As she rose, something small and sparkly fell off her shirt. Bending down, and picking it up, she realized what it was the moment she touched it. It was a tiny jewel shard. Who left it there? Or did it just fall off her necklace? Kagome took a moment to fuse it to her chunk of the jewel before she brushed herself off and started walking towards town from her spot at the edge of the forest.

She wondered vaguely if InuYasha and her friends had returned home yet, but instead, headed to Kaede's hut, as her stomach growled merrily. The shark-man's eyes lingered in her head, staring at her accusatorily.

How did he know her?

,',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','

"ITACHHHHIIIIIII!!!!"

Itachi rose from his chair, startled, and upset a stack of books that had been resting on his armrest.

"Holy- God_damn_ it, fucking Kisame." He cursed under his breath.

Not bothering to clean up the mess he had just made, Itachi grabbed his cloak, which was lying on a nearby table, folded and mended, and wrapped it around his form before stalking off after his partner's voice.

He had been unable to sleep, and had headed to the library, to see if he could do some more research. However, apparently he had dozed off-

"ITACHHHHIIIIIIIIII!!!!!"

Kisame was getting closer. Opening the big oaken doors to the library, Itachi turned a sharp right, only to be temporarily deafened.

"ITAAAAAAACHHHHHHIIIIIII!!!!!!!!"

"Jesus fu- KISAME!" Itachi's head was ringing, but Kisame was still against the wall, with a kunai at his throat. "_What?"_

"I MET HER!" Kisame gasped. Upon closer inspection, Itachi found his partner's eyes glittering with excitement.

"_WHAT?"_

"That girl, who you're constantly day-dreaming about?"

"_WHAT?!"_

Kisame looked at his partner, and took in his incredulous, outraged face. Grinning back, he lowered Itachi's hand.

"She was here, in our room."

"You_ lie."_ Itachi snarled, wrenching his hand away, and stalking off in the direction of their shared room. He heard Kisame hurrying after him.

"I'm not! She was in the room! She woke me up, and when I rolled over, she was standing beside my bed, and then she whimpered for you."

Itachi slammed the door to their room open, and looked around the room. Was there anything different? Kisame's bed was a mess… that wasn't unusual. His own bed, half folded over, was the way he had left it. Moving closer for inspection, Itachi noted the strange indent pattern, that didn't match his body- as if someone had applied pressure to the mattress with their hands. She had leant over his bed.

Turning back to the door where Kisame waited, Itachi opened his mouth to speak, and then promptly shut it again. There was a pair of dainty slippers sitting beside the door.

Itachi snatched them up, and stared at them for a moment, before turning an infuriated glare to Kisame.

"Hey, now." Kisame put his hands up in a defensive manner. "I didn't put those there. As far as I know, they don't even belong to anyone in the Akatsuki."

Itachi let the Sharingan flood his eyes, and he scrutinized the slippers, searching for any residue of her strange powers. Faintly, the slippers appeared to have a misty substance surrounding them, but it's edge was too close to the slipper, and the slipper itself was light enough that he couldn't really distinguish if there was anything there, or if it was just his mind playing tricks.

"Son of a fucking bitch."

Itachi threw the slippers back to the ground, and disappeared down the hall, and headed for the exit that backed out into the forest. Kisame followed his partner, not wanting to miss any kind of action.

"Where did she go?" Itachi questioned Kisame, as he walked, (more like stomped, in Kisame's opinion) through the trees.

"She disappeared."

"_She what?"_ Itachi stopped stomping to level Kisame with his most dangerous glare yet.

"Dis-a-peared." Kisame frowned. "It comes from the Latin word-"

"I know what the fucking word means!" Itachi snapped, before continuing his destruction of the helpless undergrowth.

"What the hell is your problem?" Kisame shouted, who picked up the pace, and followed Itachi from where he had stopped.

"I don't have a fucking problem." Itachi muttered, ripping a low hanging branch right off the tree that was in his path.

"Don't have a- Get a grip!" Kisame yelled. "Don't you see what this girl is doing to you? You're _messed up_! You're swearing like Hidan! You're stomping through the forest, louder than a fricking marching band!!"

Itachi stopped, but it wasn't in response to Kisame. As he watched, Itachi walked up to a giant tree, and brushed his hand across the bald patch where the bark was missing, before he promptly disappeared in a flash of pink light.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

,',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','

Itachi blinked and stared at the foliage surrounding him. He had made it through the tree. He recognized this place from before. His Sharingan scanned the area around him, but he didn't find anyone that he recognized.

Walking through the trees, he came across an old, dry well. He noted that it looked vaguely familiar; from that dream he had had. However, this time, there was ivy, no hut, and no concrete. And bones.

Turning, he caught sight of a village through the trees, and walked towards it, wondering where on earth (and in time) he was. The forest was silent around him, but Itachi didn't think much of it.

Until a demon came crashing through the trees, heading past him. However, it stopped at his appearance, and it growled at him. Itachi looked at the thing, revolted. It had long arms, and was hunched over. It's skin was pockmarked and oily, and it's head wasn't centered on it's shoulders. Something glinted in his forehead.

"I was after the shikon-miko, but I think you'll be a nice appetizer, human." The thing warbled, drool falling out of it's mouth.

Itachi stared at it a moment, before flipping through handseals to a familiar jutsu: _**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!**_

Itachi watched in a rather morbid interest as the thing gurgled and died, becoming ash and blowing away. The sparkly thing from its forehead fell to the ground. Walking over, Itachi picked it up, and inspected it closely.

"That thing said something about _shikon_…"

Itachi's mind instantly went to his recurring dream, and the half jewel around Kagome's neck. She was the shikon miko.

"Then this belongs to you," he smiled faintly.

Heading in the direction that the demon had been headed in, he quickly came to the edge of the forest. A little ways to his left, Kagome was sitting and napping in the shade of a tree.

Silently, Itachi moved closer, until he was kneeling right beside Kagome. Her face was serene in her sleep, and Itachi reached out and ran his fingers across her cheek in the lightest touch he could manage. He needed to feel her again; but he didn't want to wake her up.

Depositing the jewel on her lap, Itachi pressed his nose into her hair before walking swiftly away, and without looking back.

,',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','

Kisame was sent flying as the pink flash lit the forest, and Itachi reappeared.

"You! What… but, how?!" Kisame couldn't manage to string a sentence of words together.

"So I did disappear?" Itachi asked Kisame.

Kisame managed to nod affirmative.

"So it's real…" Itachi mused aloud, before smiling.

Kisame, still rather shell-shocked, wondered when the world was going to implode.

**To Be Continued…**

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**A/N:** Itachi made me laugh. I defiantely think he's a little OOC. A lot, actually. But again, it suited.

Just as a little explination... Itachi and Kagome are doing these things respectively, at the same time. There is a time difference between them, which is why Kagome is still asleep when Itachi visits, and why Itachi isn't there during Kagome's dream. If you think about it really hard, then it makes sense. XD

That being said, I hope you enjoied the chapter!! Please let me know in a review. It will make me SOOOO happy! It cam be my Christmas present!!

That being said, MERRY CHRISMAS, my dear, dear reviewers!! AND HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR, FULL OF FANFICTION AND ITACHI!!! 3

**ancient-relic**


	7. Dream Catcher

**A/N: **So I know you all hate me, and blah blah blah for not updating sooner. Truth is, I've been distracted. But I do love my stories, and I AM going to continue them. SO NOT TO FEAR.

Secondly, I was kinda at a loss with this story... I mean, I didn't know what I was going to do with it. I have a tentative idea, but input is appreaciated. After getting completely up to date with the Naruto manga, I was both inspired and saddened. But if you haven't read it, I won't give it away...

Anyhow, like I said, I'm tentatively continuing on, but it's kinda going in circles. I promise they're'll be some kind clearer direction. Soon. Soon-ish. Maybe.**

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Itachi and Kagome. I couldn't own them without owning the series that they belong to... and we already know _that's_ impossibe... siiiiighhh.

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**In Dreams**

**Chapter Seven: Dream Catcher **

**By ancient-relic**

Kagome sighed to herself. She hadn't really gotten anything accomplished, despite a day without InuYasha. She had puttered around the village, helping out others where she could, yet she couldn't bring herself to put her all into it. For some reason- a _maybe_ unknown- her mind always seemed to wander, and she was having a hard time concentrating.

Recently, since in fact, earlier that day, she'd been getting these strange visions, of a strange place deep within a mountain. The first one had occurred during her nap in the shade, but she passed that off as a dream. She had then woken to a jewel shard on her lap, and though she was curious about its origins, she couldn't bring herself to complain, after she purified it and added it to their growing collection.

Wandering around aimlessly now, she couldn't help but wonder about the man plaguing her (in theory). She could not come up with a decent explanation as to the strange black knife she carried around with her, nor the way she got into her locked house with no help after collapsing in the well. There was no _way_ that her sheets could have smelled of wood and smoke, and she still had no explanation for any of her remembered conversations. She'd had them with _somebody_, after all.

Kagome wondered how much longer she'd have to wait to see Itachi again. The strange visions came at random times, and no one ever seemed to notice her presence. Sighing again, (she'd been doing that a lot recently,) she slid down the wall of Kaede's hut, and stared at the sun as it set, listening to the old woman putter around inside, preparing food for the return of her friends.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Itachi paced, restless. He had been to the tree several times, yet it wouldn't respond to him. He had tried to sleep, yet he could not stay still long enough to do so. He had to go find her- _Kagome…_ the name sent delicious shivers down his spine.

He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything before- more than peace, more than war, more than blood- more than power. A strong feeling; a craving, was welling up inside of him. Fighting it was not going to accomplish much- he had already determined that. He had found a portal to another world, with a mysterious and beautiful young woman.

Despite all of his eagerness to feel; to see, even, Kagome again, he was slowly growing more and more cautious. What if someone else stumbled upon the tree? Would it let him through? What if someone else from the Akatsuki (he wasn't worried about Kisame) discovered the tree's magical properties?

Scenarios ran through his head at a rapid pace- capturing Kagome, torturing Kagome, and_ examining_ Kagome for the source of her power. Was she one of the Holy Ones mentioned in legend? If she was, surely she would be used as a weapon in Pein's conquest. Itachi could not let that happen. He had thought that there was little else for him to accomplish… until the strange dreams had started.

He'd been much more pensive, as of late, and he had come to the conclusion that he had done all there was to do. However, the strange, young lively Kagome had shown him that perhaps, there was more to it. It was not the end, no. It was a new beginning.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Kagome rose. A powerful demonic aura was approaching from the trees to the North. Yet, it was not Kouga, or any of his tribe. She wasn't familiar with any of the other demons that were exclusive to the 

North, besides the wolves. Grabbing her bow, arrows, and little dagger, Kagome rose to confront the source of the evil power.

As she walked, she focused on the youki. She was unsurprised to discover that it was tainted by jewel shards, but was more surprised that there were five. She would have her work cut out for her- that much was certain. However, she wasn't worried. InuYasha would be returning soon- for tomorrow was the night of the new moon, and his senses would be dulling. But Miroku was with him, and even Miroku would not miss the power of five amassed jewel shards, so all Kagome had to do was keep the monster busy until they arrived.

She was rather cheerful, walking into a battle, but she felt rather good about it. She grinned widely, knocking an arrow to her bow before continuing into the trees that stood tall before her.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Itachi felt something rush throughout his body- a foreign, unfamiliar feeling. He had not felt something like this for many years, and so it took a moment for him to recognize the feeling. He was sitting with Hidan, Kakuzu, and Kisame, drinking sake in a local pub in the city.

Kisame was the first to notice that Itachi had stiffened, and placed his sake down a little more aggressively than he needed to.

"Itachi, what is it?" he asked, looking at his partner. "Itachi-"

Surprisingly, Hidan was the one who held up a hand to stop him. "Perhaps he is being visited by Jashin-sama. What an honour!!"

Kakuzu frowned at his partner, before looking at Kisame. He was much easier to read than Itachi. Kisame looked mildly concerned and slightly amused as he waved a blue hand in front of Itachi's face. However, when he turned his attention to Itachi, he was surprised at the emotion that was portrayed on his face. A look of dread had Itachi paler than he had ever been before, and he already had a milky complexion.

_Something isn't right. Something isn't right. Something isn't right. What is it? What gives me this painful feeling in the pit of my stomach? Kagome…_ Itachi's mind wandered rapidly. _Something isn't right… Kagome… something's happening to Kagome!!_

He drew the conclusion quickly as his mind paced in circles, and he immediately rose from the cushion he was seated upon, and disappeared with a swirl of leaves. Kisame moved back over to his sake dish, and pulled the bottle to him.

"What the hell was that?" Hidan demanded. "Where was that prick off to in such a rush?"

"Dunno," Kisame shrugged, downing his sake, and serving himself some more. "What Itachi does in his spare time isn't my business."

Kakuzu remained silent for a moment longer. "Hidan, Kisame, surely you both have noticed that Itachi is acting… _strangely?_"

"Sure," Hidan replied. Kisame merely looked at the ninja across the table from him, waiting for what came next.

"I have been informed by Tobi…" Kakuzu paused for dramatic effect.

"Yea? Spit it out!!" Hidan fell for it.

"Itachi had a… _hickey_ on his neck."

Hidan and Kisame sat quietly, staring at Kakuzu. However, the silence didn't last long.

"WHAAAAAAATTTTT?"

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Kagome stared up at the demon before her, watching as it circled her warily. A purifying arrow had narrowly missed its head upon Kagome's entrance into the clearing, and it now recognized her as a threat. It wasn't particularly pleasant looking- it was some kind of reptile, with long, sharp teeth, claws, and a barbed tail.

Yet despite its repulsiveness, Kagome was pumped. For an unknown reason, she felt courage welling up inside her. The thing didn't seem to be smart, despite its five jewel shards, so Kagome placed herself against a wall of trees, where it couldn't get behind her, and prepared to make her second shot.

Instead of aiming outright at the shards embedded in its forehead, she aimed instead for the chest and neck, hoping to sever the shards from the rest of the more dangerous body. Pausing only a moment, the creature lunged towards her in self preservation.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Itachi stepped through the tree, the nausea quickly becoming something easily dismissed. His skin was tingling in anticipation. Kagome was here somewhere… he closed his black eyes, and when he opened them they were red.

_Kaogme, wait for me…_

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

InuYasha on Shippo, and Miroku and Sango on Kirara flew low into the village, touching down lightly by Kaede's hut. Shippo immediately bounded into the hut, Kagome's scent flowing lightly around the building.

"Kagome!! Kagome, I'm so glad you're-" The rest of the group hurried forward when Shippo's exaltation was silenced.

"What? Where's Kagome?" InuYasha demanded; hand on Tetsusaiga as he bounded into the hut. Shippo was sitting with his head bowed beside Kagome's big yellow bag. Kaede was nowhere to be seen.

"Kagome-sama is around, InuYasha, not to worry." Miroku replied, assessing the situation verbally. "Her bag is here, after all."

"She never took it with her, though," Sango refuted, entering the hut with Kirara in her arms. "So how can you be certain?"

"Her scent is all around, like she's just walked through here recently." Shippo spoke up, his sadness no longer apparent. "I thought she was in here, but it's just her bag."

"Keh," InuYasha spat. "Well she's not anymore,"

"This is all your fault, InuYasha!" Shippo accused. "You're the reason she disappeared in the middle of the night!"

"Oh yeah?" InuYasha cracked his knuckles menacingly. "And what makes you say that?"

"You're ALWAYS the reason! What else could it be?"

Sango and Miroku stood all but forgotten by the doorway, watching as Shippo continued flinging insults and dodging InuYasha's reaching hands. "I've got an idea, Houshi-sama," Sango whispered. "Watch."

"SIT!" she bellowed, and sure enough, InuYasha froze in the middle of his pursuit of Shippo. A millisecond later he realized it had only been Sango, but his anger at Shippo was forgotten.

"It actually wasn't me this time," he said quietly, sitting beside Kagome's bag.

"What?" Miroku said, his staff jingling as he lowered both it and himself to the ground as well. "Are you sure you've done nothing?"

"Well, pretty sure," InuYasha said, and the others sat down around him. InuYasha set to describing what he had come across last night, and the others were quick to agree with his description of Kagome's strange behavior.

"That just doesn't sound like Kagome-chan," Sango said, shaking her head. "And there isn't anything out of the ordinary that I can tell you about either, we mostly just gossip when we swim."

Just then, Miroku's head shot up, and his face grew pale. "What? What?" Shippo asked, patting Miroku's knee.

"Jewel shards," he said, rising to his feet quickly. "Five of them, in the forest."

"It must be Naraku," InuYasha growled, and bounded out of the hut.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

"Kyahh!" Kagome shrieked, as her arrow went wide, removing the thing's right arm. It jumped at her, drool and blood flying everywhere, and she threw herself to the side to avoid collision.

However when she rose from the ground, she felt like laughing. Here she was, screaming as a demon lunged at her while covered in drool, blood, and most likely slime on top of other nasty bodily fluids. She remembered the time when she was normal… _What would everyone think of me now if they saw what I did with all of my time?_

But the stunned creature was already on its feet and lumbering around again. Kagome raised her bow to the thing again, but it's jaw cracked open, and a wide burst of energy launched itself across the clearing in her general direction.

A body slammed into hers, knocking her out of the way of the blast. Yet instead of feeling the ground again, warm arms pulled her closer, and Kagome opened her eyes and managed to inhale after the wind being knocked out of her.

Smoke filled her nostrils, along with the scent of burning flesh, as the bright glow of a fire died down. It trailed off right past her face, and she felt the heat wash over her like a summer breeze. Bright red eyes met hers then, and she cracked a smile.

"Hello again,"

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Itachi watched the creature lunge at Kagome through the trees, and watched Kagome fire off a glowing arrow that captured his attention the same way as the jewel at her throat had done in his dream. It was then, when the creature dodged the arrow, that he made his move to intercede, and take Kagome from harm's way. Watching the creature with his Sharingan, he followed its next path, and flipped through a substitution jutsu to the place in the trees right behind Kagome.

As she picked herself up, the creature prepared to lunge again, and he scooped her up as he passed, throwing a simple fire jutsu at the creature, watching as it seemed to melt in the flames.

Kagome began breathing a moment later, and he realized that he must have knocked the air right out of her. Looking down at the girl in his arms, his voice caught in his throat as she smiled at him.

"Hello again," she said.

Against his will, the corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile. Kagome caught this, however, and her own smile grew wider. "I don't know anything about being a ninja," she started, sitting patiently as Itachi walked down the tree that he was balanced on to set her on the ground.

"But I know about warriors… and warriors aren't supposed to show any emotion." She frowned. "Please don't be like that with me."

Taken by the simple request, Itachi didn't realize that there were three… four large heat sources closing in on their location. As soon as he noticed them, he tensed, eyes growing hard and picking the best defensive points in the clearing. Kagome followed him as he moved, positioning himself in the foliage facing the way he had come, lest he need to escape.

Kagome looked at him strangely as he crouched in the underbrush, partly behind a tree. He looked at her, and put a finger to his mouth in a gesture he had not used in years. Then, he followed it with the ram seal, and a clone of himself popped into existence right beside Kagome. Startled, she moved away, and was about to say something, when the Itachi clone covered her mouth.

"Relax," he voice came from the clone. "It's just a doppelganger. I won't let anything happen to you. Just don't give away my position."

Seemingly satisfied with this, Kagome turned to stand with the clone, and Itachi pulled himself deeper into the trees, and substituted across the clearing so he could see both Kagome, and whoever was approaching. Taking one final defensive step, he cast a genjutsu over the tree he was standing in, completely hiding his form from all angles.

It was not long after that the various companions that he had seen with Kagome on more than one occasion came bursting into the clearing, riding on a large flying cat. Itachi was shocked, to say the least, but could not give anything away, whether it be from his doppelganger or from his concealed position.

"KAGOME!" InuYasha yelled, though he was little more than a few feet away. Kagome chuckled.

"You'd better let Kagome go right now," InuYasha threatened, cracking his claws in the Itachi clone's direction. "Or I'm going to make you regret having ever laid hands on her."

"And if I don't?" the clone spoke, narrowing his eyes at InuYasha. "What are you going to do about it, _dog?_"

InuYasha growled, not even bothering with Tetsusaiga. "I'm going to kill you."

**To Be Continued…**

**--(THIS LINE IS NOT WORKING?!)--**

**A/N: **Another chapter down. What a cliffie, eh? BWAHAHAHAHAHA. HAHA. By the way, the whole hickey-on-Itachi business will be explained. Not to fear.

Please remember that reviews are greatly appreciated!! Input is accepted as well, and is always looked forward to.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO **CherryNekoChan** for the 200th review!! **THANK YOU SO MUCH- TO ALL MY REVIEWERS AS WELL!! **Thanks for putting up with me though all of my laziness and not updating.

**ancient-relic**


	8. Nightmare

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long, really truly. However, I'm currently combatting with a 57 in one of my classes, so I've really gotta get a move on. Unfortunately, that means more than one week between updates. If you put up with me, I'll be more than happy. If you continue to put up with me, (meaning, you've already taken at least one of my excuses in stride waiting for another update,) then I LOVE YOU.

So, without further ado, the long-awaited climactic chapter smack-down between Itachi and InuYasha. A dog and a weasel... I wonder who's going to win?

... that's a lie. I know who's going to win. XD But feel free to continue on, and find out for yourself! I apologise in advance for... well... maybe I'll leave the apologising to the end A/N. Please, read on!

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own InuYasha or Naruto. BUT MY GOD, HAVE ANY OF YOU READ WHAT HAPPENS TO KAKASHI IN THE LATEST CHAPTERS?!?

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**In Dreams**

**Chapter Eight: Nightmare**

**By ancient-relic**

Kagome watched, entranced by Itachi's back, as he stood his ground against InuYasha. Neither was moving, but InuYasha was crouched, his claws tensed. Itachi was standing, looking rather comfortable; wearing what Kagome assumed was a rather self-assured look, for InuYasha to be so upset.

"InuY-" she started, trying to placate her long-time friend.

"Don't even say it, Kagome." InuYasha snarled. "This is out of your hands now, and I'm gonna deal with it, _my way."_

With that, InuYasha launched at Itachi, throwing himself forward with a speed that neither Itachi nor Kagome had predicted. Itachi watched carefully from his spot, and ordered his clone to dodge as much as possible, trying to force the strange man to play his hand.

InuYasha couldn't seem to land nearly as many hits as he had assumed he would, for the strange cloaked man was much faster than he appeared to be. His mind wandered to Tetsusaiga, but his anger stopped him. He wanted to feel this strange human's blood on his claws, and nothing else would suffice.

A good swipe caught Itachi's cloak, ripping a long diagonal gash from knee to foot. Itachi, not suspecting such a hit, faltered a moment, which was all InuYasha needed to go for the clone's throat with a viscous growl. Kagome watched in morbid fascination as InuYasha's hand encircled the Itachi-clone's neck, and the claws sunk into his pale flesh for one tantalizing moment, before a burst of smoke surrounded the two forms.

"_Damn_ it, Kagome!" InuYasha yelled, jumping straight upwards out of the smoke. His landing was jarred, and violent. Turning furiously on the young girl, he approached her with an upraised finger. "Just what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Kagome flinched at InuYasha's accusing tone. His anger was so tangible, she could almost taste it. She told herself that she never could have predicted InuYasha's reaction, but another part of her chastised herself. _Silly Kagome, what did you _think_ would happen?_

"Nothing she can't get herself out of, _dog_." Itachi spoke suddenly. InuYasha turned to find a figure melting out of a tree. Itachi turned his red eyes on InuYasha, and called upon his Tsukiyomi. InuYasha's figure seized up, and Kagome found herself frozen as well, staring at the strange pinwheel in Itachi's eyes.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

_InuYasha groaned, and raised his arm to his head to rub his forehead in an attempt to quell the throbbing pain. However, he found himself unable to move his arms. Groggily, he raised his head and opened his eyes. _

_Taking in his surroundings carefully, he sniffed the air delicately. There was no scent here. Blackened trees and barren ground covered as far as he could see. He was chained to the ground, arms and legs spread. The chains were attached to weights, which seemed to be the cause of his inability to move. The sky; what he could see most of, was grey, matching the colour scheme of this strange world he was in._

_Vibrations on the ground alerted him of something approaching, but he couldn't tell what it was, because no scent reached his nose. As they got more prominent, his ears picked up the sound of sobbing._

"_InuYasha!" Kagome cried, falling to her knees beside his bound form. "InuYasha, I'm so sorry," _

_InuYasha looked up at his, his face softening at her tears. "Don't cry, Kagome. It's okay,"_

"_No, it's not!" she said. Tears dripped from her chin onto his cheek, tickling his skin. However, he couldn't move his hands to wipe it away. Kagome did that a moment later. "It's all my fault, and I'm sorry, but I should have told you about my dreams, and about-"_

"_Kagome," InuYasha said, cutting her off. "Look at me." _

_Kagome turned her watery eyes to his, after scrubbing at them with her sleeve. _

"_I promised to protect you, didn't I?" he gave her a stern look, and she nodded in response. "But how am I supposed to do that if you're hiding strange people from me?"_

_Kagome stared down at him, caught between being flattered at his concern, or upset at his gall._

"_That strange man,"_

"_Itachi," Kagome corrected._

"_-he's not human. I can sense a strange demonic power in him that I've never felt before. We don't know if he's in league with Naraku, and he's extremely powerful for a human." InuYasha listed._

"_He's not a bad person," Kagome protested, fisting her hands in InuYasha's haori._

"_And how do you know that, Kagome?" InuYasha shot back._

"_I just know, okay?" Kagome replied heatedly, her tears forgotten. "He's been nothing but gentle with me, and he's already saved my life once already!"_

_InuYasha quieted at the admission, choosing instead to scrutinize Kagome's face. She stared right back at him, refusing to be the one to back down._

_With a sigh, InuYasha looked away. "Where are we?"_

"_You are in the Tsukiyomi world," a voice spoke up. InuYasha stiffened, and he felt Kagome's fists tighten reflexively against him. "I have transported you here through my Sharingan. It is a world entirely under my control."_

"_You bastard!" InuYasha snarled, struggling against his chains, looking for the man Kagome called Itachi. "You're the one that chained me? Let me up, and fight me fairly!"_

"_I will do no such thing, dog." Itachi replied, stepping closer so that InuYasha could see his red eyes peering down at him. "Kagome does not wish for any more fighting. Restraining you was necessary so that you would listen to her words."_

_InuYasha merely growled, but stopped struggling. Turning to Kagome, he watched the tears well up in her eyes again. "Please, InuYasha, just listen to me for a minute, okay?"_

"_Keh-" he scoffed. "It's not like I have a choice."_

_Kagome couldn't resist a small grin at his response. He had given up… for now. "There's something that's connecting Itachi and I," she said. InuYasha watched as she looked up to Itachi for a moment, before her eyes met his again and she continued._

"_Itachi is a ninja from another world. Somehow, the Goshinboku has connected them. I think it's because there is something that needs to be done… I think Itachi is supposed to help us- and I'm supposed to help him."_

"_That's ridiculous, Kagome!" InuYasha cried. "Another world?"_

"_It's true, dog." Itachi replied. "We've been having the same dreams. I believe it is a sign. I have also found evidence of what you call 'miko' in ancient history books. I believe we have been connected for a purpose."_

_InuYasha glared at him, but the position hurt his neck. Turning his face away from both of them, he mused about the possibility. He felt Kagome rise from beside him, and step towards Itachi._

_They moved several steps away from him, and out of his line of sight. His ears caught whispers of words, but nothing he could decipher. The rustling of clothing followed, before the footsteps approached again._

_Kagome kneeled at his side again, and pulled him into a sitting position. Apparently, the chains were gone. "Please don't fight with Itachi, okay?"_

_InuYasha found his anger crumbling at her soft-spoken plea. "Keh," He looked away. Kagome helped him to his feet, and InuYasha rubbed his wrists, before looking to Itachi, who was standing several feet away. _

"_Now that you're acting slightly more civilly," Itachi began, "Let us return to the real world."_

_InuYasha growled mutedly at Itachi's choice of words, but remained at Kagome's side. The dark world around them lightened, and InuYasha had to shut his eyes against the glare._

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Blinking, Kagome looked around, only to find everything where it had been before she had entered that dark world with Itachi and InuYasha. Sango and Miroku were still watching from the side of the clearing in mild confusion, and everything seemed still.

When InuYasha shifted in front of her, however, she tensed and moved between him and Itachi. InuYasha looked confused and slightly hurt at her position, and flattened his ears against his head in distaste.

"No more fighting, remember," she said, giving him a pointed look.

InuYasha looked away, a silent response. Seemingly satisfied, Kagome turned to Itachi, who was standing by the tree he had appeared from.

"Itachi," she started, walking towards him. Itachi appeared in front of her not a step later, his pale hand on her shoulder. Surpised by his sudden movement and his warm hand, she froze.

Taking advantage of the situation, he brought his mouth up to her ear. "I will come find you when I discover more about our… _situation." _He inhaled the delicate scent of her clean hair.

"Until then," he spoke louder, and pressed his lips to the crown of her head. "Be safe."

InuYasha's outrage was clear from across the clearing, but true to his word, he did not approach Itachi.

Itachi disappeared again, but Kagome found herself frozen, her mind lingering on his warm hand on her shoulder, and his deep voice in her ear.

"When I return," Itachi's low voice caught InuYasha's attention. His ears turned backwards, InuYasha realized that the ninja was behind him. However, a sharp, cool metal point at his neck stopped him from turning around. He growled lowly.

"She had best be the same as I have left her." The metal and the heavy presence then disappeared, and InuYasha spun around, only to find that the ninja had disappeared again.

Moving to Kagome's side, he touched her shoulder gently. "Kagome,"

Kagome jerked, startled by both his touch and his voice. "I think we have something things to discuss," he stressed his last word. She turned to him, get demeanor meek.

"I suppose," she nodded.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Itachi phased through the tree with little to no trouble, stepping into his familiar forest with a strange sense of homecoming. He realized that he always seemed to be on edge in that strange world that Kagome was in, as if there was a pair of eyes that were following his every move.

A sound startled him out of his thoughts, and his hand immeadiately went to his kunai. However, what he discovered was not what he expected, when a shadowy figure emerged from the trees ahead of him. Light blue hair fluttered in the breeze, and dark eyes scrutinized him closely.

"Leader has requested your presence, Itachi-san."

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

A dark chuckling echoed throughout the empty castle. Naraku looked up from Kanna's mirror, and into the curious scarlet eyes of Kagura.

"Well isn't this an interesting turn of events,"

Kagura shivered. As much as she detested the little band of heroes, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them. Whatever Naraku was beginning to concoct didn't bode well for anyone.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**A/N: **So, as for my apologies... SORRY IT'S A REALLY SHORT CHAPTER, AND SORRY THAT THE FIGHT KINDA SUCKED, AND SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT SO LONG FOR AN ICKY CHAPTER!

At least there's a little insight into my non-exsistant plot...

Please review... feel free to attempt to change the non-exsistant plot into an exsisting with a cleverly phrased review.

**ancient-relic**


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